Ocean
by A Nightmare On Water Street
Summary: *Chapter 2 now up* Takes place loooooong before the first movie. Captain Barbossa brings aboard a captive, but he had no idea how much she could change his life.
1. Chapter 1

This story is something I came up with out of nowhere, but the idea stuck with me and I had to do it.  
  
Ocean  
  
By A Nightmare on Water Street  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Thirty-two year old Captain Barbossa looked through his telescope at the nearing land. He could see a small island in the distance. He smiled.  
  
"We be there soon," he said lowering the telescope, "and then we can enjoy the luxury of being on land."  
  
The crew sneered and murmured. It had been a long time since they have felt the solid ground beneath their feet. Barbossa decided it would be the best to stop before they all go insane.  
  
"Lower the anchor and man the lifeboats!" called Barbossa.  
  
The crew left their captain and went to the smaller boats on the side of the ship.  
  
A tall African American man approached Barbossa and said, "I am surprised you decided to stop, Captain. It's not like you."  
  
"They are restless, Bo'sun" answered Barbossa, turning to face the tall man, "I thought we should before they start killing one another. I wouldn't have much of a crew after that."  
  
Bo'sun chuckled.  
  
"Let's go to the life boats," said Barbossa, "I meself wouldn't want to miss this."  
  
{~~~~~~~~~~~~}  
  
Maria walked along the beach silently, watching the tide come in. It was a beautiful day on the island. The sun reflected the clear, pure ocean water which was a mesmerizing sight.  
  
The island she lives on with her family was small. It had only a single town in the middle of the island which was hidden by trees and impossible to see from the shore. It was a peaceful place, and Maria wouldn't want to be anywhere else.  
  
Maria sighed deeply, taking in the salty air. She looked back out at the ocean and froze at what she saw.  
  
A small fleet of lifeboats were coming towards her island. There were a large number of boats, each holding about eight men. She looked out further in the ocean and spotted a ship floating in the shallows. A large black flag flew on the highest mast.  
  
Maria gasped, her hand flying over her mouth. 'Pirates,' she thought.  
  
Maria looked back at the fleet. One boat at the very front had a man standing at the very front. He stood almost proudly. He wore a long black coat and a hat with feathers decorating the top.  
  
'He must be the captain,' Maria thought.  
  
Maria turned, gathered up her dress, and ran as fast as she possibly could towards the foliage.  
  
'I must tell the town,' she thought over and over in her head.  
  
She entered the forest and dodged trees and vines. She ran hard, her breath growing short and heavy. She felt that it was the fastest she had ever run.  
  
Maria took a look back to see how much the pirates had progress, but then tripped over a root sticking out the ground.  
  
She fell forward onto the hard land, hitting her elbows and knees hard.  
  
"Owww..." she moaned as she put her hands underneath her. She clumsily pushed herself up, but felt a sharp pain in her right ankle.  
  
"AAAAHHHH!" Maria cried. She clutched her ankle that was wedged underneath the root tightly, wincing in pain. She hoped the pirates wouldn't find her, especially in the condition she was in now.  
  
{~~~~~~~~~~~~}  
  
"Land ho!" called a pirate rowing Barbossa's boat.  
  
Barbossa faced him, "Shut up, you wretch," he said, slapping him in the back of his head, causing the pirate's glass eye to pop from its socket.  
  
The small boats slid onto the sandy beach and Barbossa's men jumped off almost immediately. The cheered and laughed from the pleasure of being on dry land.  
  
Barbossa slowly climbed out of the boat and was joined by Bo'sun.  
  
"We mustn't stay long, Captain," he said, "we don't want any extra company."  
  
"'Right, then," said Barbossa. He turned towards his men and said, "Simmer down, yeh all. We will leave shortly, so take in all of the land yeh need before we head back out to the ship!"  
  
His men groaned.  
  
{~~~~~~~~~~~~}  
  
Maria tried to pull her foot free from the root, but it didn't come loose. Tired and sore, she stopped. Trying to free her foot had just made the pain in her now swollen ankle worse.  
  
The sun was beginning to set on the horizon line. She knew she must have taken a while to try and free herself. She sighed. If it took her that long to try to free her foot, than why try again. She was getting nowhere anyways.  
  
Maria took a deep breath. She could see the pirates from her spot in the forest. 'If I just sit here until they leave, I could call for help,' she thought, still wincing in pain.  
  
Maria shifted position, but it was a bad mistake. "AAAARGH!" she cried out loudly, grabbing her aching foot.  
  
She gasped, realizing what she had just done.  
  
{~~~~~~~~~~~~}  
  
Barbossa was relaxed near the shore. His men were visiting with each other and pacing along the beach. For once, Barbossa could relax and forget his responsibilities as captain.  
  
He sighed, closing his eyes, a small breeze rolling over the waves of the ocean and coming into the beach. He hadn't felt so relaxed in ages, it seemed.  
  
"AAAARGH!"  
  
Barbossa jumped, startled out of his dream-like state.  
  
A voice had just let out a painful scream from the forest. A female voice.  
  
Many men were running to investigate, many with sneers playing on their face.  
  
Barbossa grunted and stood up. He made his way towards the forest were his crew was standing.  
  
{~~~~~~~~~~~~}  
  
Maria tried harder than ever to release her foot from the root. She was close to panicking, and beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead.  
  
"What do we have here?"  
  
Maria stopped struggling when she heard the voice. Slowly, she peered upward and looked at the filthy pirate before her.  
  
"It seems to be a lost soul," said another pirate sympathetically, walking up to join the first pirate.  
  
"Leave me alone you scoundrels!" Maria cried harshly.  
  
Many pirates were coming over now, all of them laughing at her last remark.  
  
"I don't think so, madam," said a new pirate.  
  
They were closing in now. Maria slumped into a ball and hid her face, ready to feel their greasy hands grab her.  
  
"Hold it!"  
  
The hands did not touch her. She looked up, to see what was going on.  
  
The pirates were not reaching for her anymore. They now stood with a look a shame and disgust.  
  
"What be goin' on?" said the same voice that had stopped them.  
  
Maria looked at the man who saved her.  
  
It was a tall, straight man, the same man she had seen earlier standing on the boat coming into the shore.  
  
"Well," said the tall man, smiling, "who many you be?"  
  
Maria didn't answer and only glared at him fiercely.  
  
"Aah, have it your way then," he said.  
  
The smile on his face vanished when he saw her foot. Slowly, he bent down and put his hands on Maria's swollen ankle.  
  
With a quick, mighty jerk, her foot was free, but it sent a burst of searing pain through her toes, all the way up her leg.  
  
Before, Barbossa knew it, she was lying on the ground unconscious.  
  
"Huh," he grunted, "fainted."  
  
He stood up and turned to his men, "Take her to the ship and put her in my cabin. Make sure she is unharmed and tend to her foot."  
  
Barbossa took one last look at Maria and then left quickly.  
  
{~~~~~~~~~~~~}  
  
Like it? I hope ya do! R&R. Chapter 2 up soon. 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you's go out to Rylee-Greenleaf and Pookie for reviewing.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Maria slowly came to consciousness. She groaned and put a hand to her forehead. That's when the pain from her ankle kicked in. Too tired, she did nothing to it and remained in position.  
  
She suddenly remembered what happened. The pirates, her running, and then tripping. The face of the pirate that freed her foot came back in her head.  
  
"Ah, you're awake."  
  
Maria jumped, making her ankle sear in pain again. She only ignored it.  
  
She sat up and looked in the direction the voice had come from.  
  
It was the pirate that had got her foot loose. The captain.  
  
Maria quickly looked at the room around her. It was a small cabin, decorated with red curtains made of satin and velvet. It was a nicely kept place, to Maria's surprise.  
  
She then noticed that the entire room was swaying.  
  
"Am I hallucinating?" she asked herself aloud.  
  
"No, you're not, Deary," said the captain.  
  
Maria had almost forgotten about the captain. Her attention turned to him again.  
  
"You're aboard my ship," he said again.  
  
Maria dropped the subject, "Who are you, and why am I here?"  
  
The pirate captain stood up. "The name is Barbossa, captain of this here ship you are on. We brought yeh here after you fainted and to tend to your ankle."  
  
"Why didn't you bring me back to my town?!" Maria demanded.  
  
Barbossa gave her a questionable look. "Do yeh really think I would walk into a town? I be a pirate! And we just couldn't leave yeh there..."  
  
He trailed off, almost as if he was short on words. "Besides, my men are a little lonely."  
  
Maria frowned at him.  
  
"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, about a day."  
  
"Excuse me?!" Maria cried in disbelief.  
  
She didn't wait to hear a reply from Barbossa and jumped off the bed and headed for the door, her ankle protesting every step.  
  
Maria stumbled out of the door and onto the main deck of the ship, where many of the other pirates were working, but stopped once Maria charged out.  
  
Maria moved over to the nearest rampart and gazed out into the ocean, leaning onto the edge.  
  
There was nothing but water along the horizon.  
  
Gasping, she ran to the opposite side of the ship and searched for land, but once again there was nothing.  
  
Maria circled over and over looking for any sight of her home-land, or any land at all. She whimpered aloud.  
  
She was alone on a ship full of lonely pirates...  
  
Maria heard footsteps coming up from behind her, and she whirled around so she could see who was approaching.  
  
"If yeh don't want to be bothered by my men, then why do yeh run out amongst them?" said Barbossa.  
  
"You are a sick man!"  
  
Barbossa chuckled, "Yeh think I be bad, the crew is worse."  
  
Maria looked around at the men that now stood circling around Barbossa and her. Many of them had the same disgusting grin on their faces the first time she had seen them.  
  
One greasy looking pirate with stringy black hair lunged at her, making Maria back off suddenly. The back of her legs hit the ramps of the ship and before she knew it, she was falling off of the ship and landed into the cold waters of the Caribbean.  
  
She struggled to stay afloat in the clear water.  
  
From the top of the ship, she heard what sounded like yells.  
  
She cautiously looked around, and she noticed the shark's fin coming her way.  
  
(~~~~~~~~~~~~)  
  
"Yeh damn barnacles!" cursed Barbossa.  
  
"What do we do si-sir?" stuttered one man.  
  
"We save 'er, that's what!" cried Barbossa, "Bo'sun! Get eh strong rope! Cast it out as soon as possible!"  
  
Bo'sun fought the urge to protest and ran into one of the lower cabins.  
  
Captain Barbossa threw off his hat and jacket and quickly slid off his boots.  
  
"I'm goin' in!" he cried.  
  
Before any of the pirates could hold him back, Barbossa was already diving off of the ship.  
  
The other pirates lined the ramp and gazed down at their captain. They gave questionable glanced to one another, wondering what spell that woman had cast on Barbossa.  
  
Barbossa hit the warm, clear water and, as quickly as he could, began to search for Maria.  
  
Maria was treading water, but in a huge panic while doing so. Barbossa swam her way.  
  
When Maria noticed him, she cried out, "Barbossa! Sharks!"  
  
Barbossa's stomach sank. He quickly looked in the direction that Maria had been motioning, and he seen the shark fin coming closer, many other shark fins close behind.  
  
Barbossa swam towards Maria, "Grab onto meh, dear!" he cried.  
  
Maria, dreading the gesture, wrapped her arms around Barbossa's waist. A look of disgust was written on her features, but another strange sensation came over her. She had never really had the feeling before, and to her own surprise, she liked it.  
  
Maria was snapped back into reality when Barbossa yelled once again. "Hold on to meh tight and don't let go!"  
  
Barbossa now had his hand on a rope that was hanging down into the water from over the side of his ship. He kept his other arm wrapped around Maria.  
  
"ON THE COUNT OF THREE, PULL!" cried Bo'sun, "ONE, TWO, THREE!"  
  
A huge grunt was heard and Maria and Barbossa were out of the water and right next to the side of the ship. Barbossa kept his feet planted on the side for support.  
  
Maria peered back down at the water and noticed the sharks were now swimming underneath her and Barbossa. She gulped.  
  
"ONE, TWO, THREE!"  
  
Once again they were heaved upwards, but this time they reached the ramps of the ship. Many hands grabbed onto her and her savoir and pulled them onto the deck.  
  
Maria lied on the ground with her eyes closed, taking in deep, gasping breaths. She again felt the sensation of warmth and security. She opened her eyes, and noticed Barbossa still had his arms wrapped around her, as if he didn't want to let go. He too had his eyes closed and was breathing deeply.  
  
Maria rested again, not wanting Barbossa to let go of her. 'Why do I feel this way?' she thought. 'I feel like I'm flying, like I'm for once really in...No! Not this! He's a pirate! I can't fall for a pirate!'  
  
She pulled away from Barbossa, who was still lying in his position, and watched him carefully.  
  
He finally sat up and began to rub his head. He took a moment to grab for his hat and coat and put them on, and looked back at Maria.  
  
They made eye contact.  
  
They both stared into each others eyes, not saying a word.  
  
'Don't do this to yourself, Maria,' she thought, 'You're just going to get hurt! Should I at least say thank you? He did save my life. Don't fall! Don't fall for a pirate! What do I do? Am I insane? I was bred a polite woman, just say thank you. Wait, maybe I shouldn't...'  
  
They didn't move for a long time, but just sat on the deck, staring at one another silently.  
  
Finally, Barbossa spoke up with a sly grin on his face, "You're welcome."  
  
(~~~~~~~~~~~~)  
  
What did ya think? Good or bad? I hope good! R&R. 


End file.
